On 5 October at 15:55 CEST two ESA CubeSats, the student-built AAUSAT5 and the professional technology demonstrator GomX-3, were deployed from the International Space Station (ISS). The two satellites have just started their mission in space.
Credit: ESA/NASA/Nanoracks
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, the first astronaut from Denmark, explains the deployment of the student-built AAUSAT5 CubeSat – the first ESA student CubeSat mission launched from space and the pilot project of ESA’s ‘Fly Your Satellite from the ISS!’ education programme.
AAUSAT5, a CubeSat entirely built by a university team with ESA’s support, was launched to the International Space Station aboard the Japanese HTV-5 cargo vehicle 19 August 2015. Andreas gives a brief tour of the Japanese cargo vehicle’s storage space, where AAUSAT5 was housed during its flight to the Station. AAUSAT5 was taken to the Japanese Kibo Laboratory, put in a Nanoracks deployer, and placed into the airlock to be launched into space.
AAUSAT5 will be deployed into orbit 5 October 2015. Aalborg University will host a special event in Aalborg, Denmark entitled “ESA CubeSats from the Space Station: a new path for education and technology” to celebrate the deployment.
Credits: ESA/NASA